


the care and feeding of

by luova_tauko



Category: Karneval
Genre: Caretaking, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 11:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luova_tauko/pseuds/luova_tauko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes a Circus Ship to raise a niji.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the care and feeding of

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt: Karneval, Any, The Care and Feeding of Niji.

"I'm sorry for intruding," Tsukumo says and bows politely. When she looks up again, Akari has put his pen down and focused on her instead of the towers of paperwork on his table. "I can come back later if you're busy."

"I assume you're not here just to annoy me." _Unlike your crewmates_ , Akari doesn't say but Tsukumo still hears it loud and clear. "What is it?"

"It's about the niji." Tsukumo draws in a breath. "If they live mostly on insects, will Nai be all right eating the same food as we do?"

Akari's lips twitch almost involuntarily. "You mean, do we have to prepare a smorgasbord of assorted bugs for him?" Any other day Tsukumo would smile at that rare glimpse of humor, but not today. There's nothing amusing about insects and she really doesn't want to watch Nai eating them. She would if she had to, though."Rest assured that if Nai's health required dietary changes, I would've taken care of it already."

"Thank you." There are no words that could express the depth of Tsukumo's gratitude.

 

"So you see," Yogi says with a flourish to the sheep he's gathered around him. "We have to take an especially good care of little Nai!"

The sheep stare at him impassively until one of them says, "We were doing a bad job -baa? We're sorry -baa."

"No no no no no!" Shaking his head vigorously, Yogi crouches down and grabs the nearest sheep for a hug. It's soft and squishy where it's not hard and coarse, and it's as comforting as always. Yogi closes his eyes and buries his face in its wool for a moment. "No, wait, _I'm_ supposed to comfort _you_. You've all done a great job! Carry on just like that! I only meant that little Nai needs even more kindness and care than the rest of us. The niji are very delicate."

"Humans are also delicate," the sheep Yogi is cradling says. "You are not like us –baa. We will take care of you too –baa."

Yogi looks at the serious little faces around him and smiles. "I know. You always do."

 

"You look like a bird's nest," Gareki says, eyeing Nai critically. "Brush your hair."

A few minutes later, Nai has found his brush (under the bed, doesn't he ever learn to look after himself?) and is attempting to sort out the mess that is his hair. "I played hide-and-seek with Yogi and the sheep! They found Yogi first and then he found me, and then we found Tsukumo in the library."

Nai really is trying, Gareki can tell that much, but the brush is too clumsy and his hair is too fine. Gareki gets up from the bed and steps behind Nai and his chair, not half as irritated as he pretends to be. "You're only making it worse. Let me."

The white strands are soft and when Gareki works his fingers gently through the tangles, Nai leans back against him. He's warm and his voice is drowsy when he asks, "Will you play with us tomorrow? It's always better when Gareki's with us, too."

"I might, if I'm not reading." Which means, _I will since you asked_ , not that Nai needs to know that.


End file.
